Antideflection roll with non-rotating beam and lever supports



Sheet DeC- 31, 1968 l.. F. THIRY NTIDEFLECTION ROLL WITH NON-ROTATING BEAM AND LEVER SUPPORTS Filed may 51, 196e Dec. 31,` 1968 F. THIRY ANTIDEFLECTION ROLL WITH NON-ROTATING BEAM AND LEVER SUPPORTS sheet 2 ofz Filed May 31, 1966 A T TOR/VE YS United States Patent O 3,418,703 ANTIDEFLECTION ROLL WITH NON-ROTATING BEAM AND LEVER SUPPORTS Leon F. Thiry, Chagrin Falls, Ohio (Thiry et Cie, Huy, Belgium) Filed May 31, 1966, Ser. No. 554,149 23 Claims. (Cl. 29-116) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Antideflection roll for heavy calenders having nonrotatable central beam and nonrotatable levers thereon supporting a series of non-rotatable supporting rings having a multiplicity of peripheral bearing means rotatably supporting the outer cylindrical shell. The lever means and supporting members distribute the load substantially uniformly along the length of the outer shell, which is the only rotating element.

The present invention relates to antideection rolls for heavy calenders and the like, such as are used in paper factories, and other industries for rolls either pressed against adjacent rolls or isolated for instance in fourdriniers breast roll for wire and return rolls for wire, felt paper, etc. and more particularly to a roll having its cylindical outer shell rotatably mounted on a central nonrotating supporting beam through suitable levers arranged to minimize deflection of the cylindrical outer shell.

In a typical paper making machine, such as a fourdrinier machine, the sheet material leaving the dryer section passes to a calender stock. Such stack comprises a rugged fabricated frame carrying a series of rolls which are used to apply very high ironing lpressures to the paper sheet and which has the effect of controlling sheet bulk, smoothness and other characteristics of the paper. The bottom calender roll is the largest and usually the only driven roll in the vertical stack, and it may be crowned to compensate for deflection under load.

The problem of providing satisfactory antidetlection rolls for paper calenders and other extremely heavy calenders has existed for many decades, and it is almost impossible to satisfy the mechanical requirements because of the high machining accuracy required, the great length and weight of the rolls, and the speed of rotation. The bottom cylinders of some of the heaviest super calenders for paper manufacture have a table length of 26 feet or so and are driven at hundreds of revolutions per minute. In addition to its own weight of nearly 40 tons, they have to support an additional load of overlying rolls of about 120 tons, making a total of around 160 tons. Because these rolls are more eilicient with small diameter they have an ioutside diameter no greater than about 40 inches. It would seem a challenge to the laws of nature to reduce the flexing of the rolls to less than 0.00004 inch, but the present invention makes it theoretically possible.

Prior to this invention, many complicated arrangements have been proposed to reduce the deilection of the rolls. Some employed fluid under pressure to control dellection of the roll. Others applied a tremendous bending force to special projecting ends of the rolls in a direction to offset the normal forces tending to ca-use deflection of the rolls.

One method of reducing the deection of a roll which is subjected to relatively light loads is to support the outer shell on axially spaced pivots or bearing members carried by a central rotating shaft so that the shaft may deflect to take up the load without causing the outer shell to deflect as much. The principle is illustrated in United States Patent No. 886,998 granted to William Love in 1908, and can be employed in some low-pressure machines such as printing machines, but it has never been satisfactory where large forces were encountered. In heavy duty calenders, fourdrinier presses and the like, where the pressure per inch of length can be in excess of 600 pounds, galling or plain breakage soon occurs. For this reason such arrangements were not satisfactory with great loads.

The present invention involves a simple arrangement of parts in a heavily loaded roll which is quite dilferent from any arrangement considered satisfactory for such cases. However, the apparatus of the invention is superior to any other previously used even for heavy calenders. The novel antideection roll of this invention has a nonrotating central beam, which fits within the generally cylindrical outer shell, a plurality of intermediate nonrotating supporting members having antifriction bearing means suoh as sleeve bearings for supporting said shell, and a system of levers carried by said beam for mounting said supporting members to move a small distance radially relative to the beam. Each lever has a pivot shaft or other pivot between its ends for transferring the load to the beam either directly or indirectly through an adjacent lever connected thereto. The free ends of each lever receive the load from said supporting members either directly or through an adjacent lever. Each supporting member supports the cylindrical outer shell by suitable bearing means, such as roller bearings, ball bearings, sleeve bearings, segmental sleeve-type bearings or the like. The bearings are mounted at any mumber (i.e., 3 or more) of locations along the length of the rotating outer shell to distribute the load in the desired manner, 8 to 10 being preferred for heavy loads. The positioning of the pivots of the levers and their lengths may be calculated to distribute such load uniformly or in a predetermined manner along the length of the roll or such pivots may be adjustable as disclosed in my Belgian Patent No. 664,784 iled J une 1, 1965.

In rolls employing lever systems according to this invention, the flexing of the cylindrical outer shell of the roll is theoretically inversely proportional to the number of axially spaced peripheral bearings with an exponent of 4. Thus, when the bearing loads are distributed at 8 axially spaced zones, the theoretical reduction is 4,096, and when such loads are distributed at 10 axially spaced peripheral zones the theoretical correcting factor is 10,000. The same reduction of bending is obtained whether using roller bearings, ball bearings or shoe-type sleeve bearings. Using the lever arrangements of this invention, and compensating for the deflection of the beam, even tremendous load applied to the roll does not bend the outer shell thereof but moves its longitudinal axis a short distance, such as 1/2 inch, to a new position parallel to its initial position while the central beam bends with the levers to carry that load. Thus, the flexing of the outer shell may be only a few ten-thiousandt-hs of an inch and can theoretically be less than that even when the center of the beam deflects more than 1/2 inch.

Each lever is provided with pivot shafts or the like capable of carrying the load with minimum wear, and the central non-rotating beam preferably has a simple cross section, such as an I-shaped cross section, for example, so that the beam is very strong and so that the levers or rocker arms may be conveniently mounted either within a hollow web of the beam or on opposite sides of the beam on pivot shafts or the like. Each of the bearing supports or supporting members for the outer shell may be generally cylindrical and preferably surrounds the beam and the levers.

It is usually preferable to locate the main pivot of each lever midway between the end pivots of that lever and to apply the load midway between the ends of each bearing support or supporting member. If, however, the antideflection roll is used in conjunction with a crowned or hollow adjacent roll, the main pivots of the levers may be offset axially from the center or adjusted as mentioned previously. In that case the cylindrical outer shell will be thinner.

It is `of course possible to have as many as needed of the lever systems working in series to have the load on the cylindrical outer shell transmitted finally to the beam. As herein shown, the beam carries 4the entire load through two main pivots, which are symmetrically located, and two identical lever assemblies carried on those pivots, but it will be understood that one main pivot and one of said lever assemblies may be used, particularly on rolls not subjected to heavy loads.

An object of the invention is to provide an antideflection roll for plain and super calenders and all rolls used in paper machines such as fourdrinier presses or the like and also all machines where a similar roll-flexing problem exists.

A further object of the present invenion is to provide such antideflection rolls which can be used with either crowned or uncrowned rolls depending upon the location of the pivots of a special lever system.

Another object of the invention is to lprovide a roll which is simple and economical to manufacture and which has a long useful life even when operated at relatively high speed under very heavy loads.

These and other objects, uses and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and claims and from the drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a top view on a reduced scale with parts broken away and shown in section showing an antideflection roll constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line indicated at 2-2 in FIG- URE 1 and on the same scale;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse vertical section view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and on the same scale;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 and on the same scale showing a modified form of the antideection roll of FIGURES 1 to 4 where roller bearings are employed;

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same general type as FIGURE 2 illustrating a modified form of antideflection roll constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of FIGURE 6 and on the same scale;

FIGURE 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 8 8 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 9 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of each longitudinal row of bearing shoes in a roll of the type shown in FIGURES 6 to 8 where it is desired to eliminate grooving of the outer shell.

To make the drawings clearing, the proportion of diameters to lengths has been increased over the proportions normally contemplated, it being understood that the sizes and proportions may vary considerably.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGURES l to 4 show a preferred form of antideection roll according to the present invention having a central horizontal supporting beam 1 which is held against rotation and may be mounted in a suitable support in a calender stack for instance or in a fourdrinier machine frame. The beam 1 may have various cross sectional shapes but preferably has an I-shaped cross-section with a vertical web 2 and flanges 3 at the top and bottom of said web. The beam has end portions 4 of reduced diameter which project axially beyond the ends of the outer shell 12. These end portions are preferably cylindrical and are held against rotation in conventional supports of the frame. It is preferable that the beam be orientable around its axis. Rigidly mounted in the web 2 of the beam are two short transverse cylindrical pivot shafts 5, each of which forms part of a lever assembly 6 having a pair of levers or rocker arms 7 mounted on the opposite end portions of the shaft 5 to pivot about the axis of said shaft. At each end of the levers 7 there is a cylindrical hole which receives the end portion of a relatively long cylindrical pivot shaft 8 having a length greater than the 'height of the beam 1 but less than the internal diameter of the router shell 12 as best shown in FIGURE 4. Each pivot shaft 8 extends through an enlarged slot or opening 9 in the medial portion of the web 2, said opening permitting the small movements of the shaft 8 which occurs when the beam 1 is deflected. Thus, the web 2 does not interfere with pivoting of each lever 7 during deflection of the beam under load.

The opposite ends of each pivot shaft 8 are mounted in cylindrical openings of the thickened portions 11 of a supporting and compensating cylinder 10, whereby such cylinder 10 is supported by the shaft 8, a series of such supporting members 10 being axially spaced along the length of the roll and being supported by the axially spaced parallel shafts 8, which are perpendicular to the web 2 and parallel to the shafts 5. As herein shown, the outer surfaces of the flanges 3 of the supporting beam are generally cylindrical and spaced from the generally cylindrical internal surface of the associated supporting cylinder 10 as shown in FIGURE 4 to provide clearance spaces 17 in the opening 18 of said cylinder, whereby the beam 1 and levers 6 may deflect under maximum load without engaging the several supporting members 10.

The antideiection roll A has an outer shell 12 with an outer surface 13 which is accurately machined to provide a cylindrical working surface at the nip of the rolls. Annular end closure members 14 are mounted at the opposite ends of the shell 12 to close said ends. These, of course, may be provided with conventional seals for engaging the cylindrical end portions 4 where it is desired to prevent leakage of oil or other lubricant from the interior of the roll. As herein shown, a sealing member 16 made of a Suitable rubber or synthetic plastic resin material is provided at each end portion of the beam. Of course, these seals should not give substantial support to the cylindrical outer shell. It is usually preferable to lubricate the peripheral antifriction bearing means 15 which are axially spaced along the length of the shell 12, preferably in a uniform manner. Each of the bearing means 15, if a roller bearing, is located around the periphery of one of the non-rotating supporting members 10, usually near the end thereof as shown in FIGURES l and 2. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 each supporting member 10 is movable independently of the next supporting member and is spaced therefrom to provide an annular space 19.

The size and shape of the parts 7, 10 and 15 and the types of pivotal connections may vary considerably. The peripheral bearing means 15 may be various conventional antifriction bearings, such as ball, needle, roller or sleeve bearings or shoe-type babbitt bearings. Thus, the bearing means 15 may be replaced by a peripheral ball bearing 15 as shown in FIGURE 5 at opposite ends of each cylinder 10. Because the flexed beam 1 remains stationary and there is no movement of the axis of rotation during each revolution of the outer shell, the bearings 15 have a long life and the beam and the other non-rotating parts will last indefinitely.

Because the novel apparatus of this invention can create a uniform supporting pressure per unit of length of the outer shell 12, the thickness of the shell may be reduced to minimize the weight. Also the ratios of the length of the shell 12 to its diameter can be considerable. The roll is usually driven indirectly through friction, but it can obviously be driven directly by any suitable apparatus which takes care of the parallel displacement of the cylindrical outer shell under load. f

The pressures applied to each of the peripheral bearings 15 of the roll A depends upon the location of the pivot shafts 5 and 8, the relative lengths of the members 10, and other variables. When it is desired to equalize the loads on the bearings 15 along the length of the roll and to minimize ybending of the outer shell 12, each shaft 5 is placed midway between the associated shafts 8 and each shaft 8 is located midway between the peripheral bearings 15 of its supporting member 10 as illustrated in the drawings. This provides a uniform nip pressure per unit of length of the cylinder 12.

When the roll A is to be used with a roll having either a somewhat convex or concave cross section, it is desirable to preselect the lengths of the levers and position the pivots thereof to provide a predetermined pressure distribution suitable for the particular type of roll. Thus, the pivot shaft 5 may be located closer to one of the shafts 8 of the lever 7 than to the other. Where one roll is crowned each pivot shaft 5 of the roll A would be offset from the center of the lever 7 toward the nearest end of the beam 1. Each shaft 5 would be offset in the opposite direction if the roll engaging the roll A had an outer surface of concave section.

When the roll A is in operation in a calender, the

load applied to the bearings 15 along the length of the shell 12 is transferred through the supporting members to the long pivot shafts 8 causing them to move in the slots 9 as the supporting members move relative to the beam 1. The space 18 within the cylinders 10 includes two clearance spaces 17 located above and below the beam 1. The lower clearance spaces 17 accommodate the sagging of the central portion of the beam, which may exceed the downward movement of the axis of shell 12.

The load applied to the long pivot shafts is transferred by the levers 7 through the short pivot shafts 5 to the beam 1 to cause the beam to bend a substantial amount. However, the bending force applied to the beam is not applied by the lever means to the shell 12. Instead the axis `of the shell is translated from one position to a parallel position as the load is applied without noticeable flexing of the shell because of the uniform distribution of the load along the length of the shell.

In the type of construction shown in FIGURES 1 to 5 wherein the bearings are employed at opposite ends of a series of cylindrical supporting members and engage the outer shell at widely spaced areas, it is usually preferable to employ roller bearings or ball bearings generally as `shown in the roll A' .of FIGURE 5, which is otherwise the same as roll A. Although the bearing means of FIGURES 1 to 4 are shown schematically as relatively narrow, it will be apparent that the width may be increased if desired to reduce the bearing load, particularly when sleeve bearings are employed. It is preferable to limit the axial Width of bearing means 15, however, because very wide sleeve bearings would tend to interfere with pivoting of each supporting member 10 on its shaft 8 if such bearings were rigidly mounted on the supporting member.

FIGURES 6 to 8 show a modified form of antideflection roll A2 according to this invention wherein the bearings are pivotally mounted on the supporting members 10a so that each sleeve bearing has a maximum width measured in an axial direction. This arrangement is preferred because it minimizes the bearing loads, increases the life of the bearings, and reduces wear on the inner cylindrical surface of the outer shell.

The roll A2 has a central horizontal supporting I-beam 1a with a vertical web 2a and anges 3a at the top and bottom of said web. The end portions 4a of the beam project beyond the ends of the outer shell 12a and are held against rotation in conventional supports of the frame. Two parallel transverse cylindrical pivot shafts 5a of relatively large diameter are rigidly mounted on the web 2a, each shaft supporting a separate lever assembly 6a having a pair of levers 7a mounted on the shaft 5a on opposite sides of the I-beam. Each end of each lever 7a has a cylindrical hole which receives the end portion of a cylindrical pivot shaft 8a. Each of the four shafts Sa extends through an enlarged slot or opening 9a in the medial portion of the web 2a, said opening permitting movement of the shaft when the beam is deflected.

Portions of each shaft Sa at opposite sides of the beam 1a are mounted in central cylindrical holes of relatively short supporting levers 10a located at opposite sides of the beam parallel to the levers 7a. Each end of each supporting lever 10a has a cylindrical hole which receives a relatively long cylindricall pivot shaft Ihaving a length greater than the height of the beam 1a but less than the internal diameter of the outer shell 12a. Each of the eight shafts 80 extends through an enlarged slot or opening in the medial portion of the web 2a, whereby t-he web does not interfere with pivoting of the supporting levers 10a during deflection of the beam. Similar holes or slots 21 are provided in each main lever 7a to receive the shafts 80 nearest the shafts 5a.

While the various openings 9a, 21 and 90 are shown herein as relatively large to facilitate illustration of the invention, it will be understood that the amount of clearance may be relatively small.

The opposite ends of each pivot shaft 80 `are anchored in cylindrical openings of the thickened portions 111 of one 'of the generally cylindrical bearing supports 15m. The antideection roll A2 of FIGURES 6 to 8 has eight bearing supports 15a arranged end-to-end along the length of the outer shell 12a to support said shell, each of said bearing supports being carried by a pivot shaft S0 at one end of a supporting member 10a.

The outer Surfaces of the flanges 3a are spaced from the generally cylindrical internal surface of the associated bearing support 15a to provide clearance spaces 17a. Such clearance spaces are shown as being relatively large in FIGURES 7 and 8 but obviously can be reduced in size to permit use of a larger I-beam, for example.

The outer shell 12a has an outer cylindrical surface 13a which is accurately machined to very close tolerances, which may be less than one ten-thousandth of an inch. Likewise, the internal cylindrical surface of the shell is accurately machined to provide a good bearing surface for engaging the bearing means 115. Annular end `closure plates 14a and suitable annular seals 16a may be provided as in the roll A. The sealing means are `desirable to prevent escape of lubricant from the interior of the shell 12a.

In the roll of this invention, it is easy to obtain good lubrication by placing lubricating oils or other lubricants inside the roll, relying on gravity to maintain the flow toward the bottom of the roll during rotation of the outer shell. Thus, it is simple to maintain adequate lubricant on the internal cylindrical surface of the rotating shell 12a to minimize wear.

Each of the generally cylindrical bearing supports or supporting cylinders 15a may be provided with bearings of the type shown in FIGURES 1 to 5, but is preferably provided with sleeve-type peripheral bearing means 115 which extends axially the full length thereof. Such bearing means may be segmental, rather than circumferentially continuous, and the wearing surfaces may, of course, be lined with babbitt metal, bronze or the like to reduce wear. The sleeve-type bearings are also more practical and more economical than roller bearings or ball bearings because their thicknesses may be much less (for example, in the neighborhood of one-half inch) to reduce the diameter of the roll.

As herein shown, the bearing means for each support 15a comprises three babbitted bearing shoes 115 of uniform width, each extending the full length of said support and spaced a half inch or so axially from the corresponding shoe 115 of t-he next adjacent support 15a to provide a narrow clearance space 19a between the adjacent ends of the supports. Such clearance space is desirable to prevent one support 15a from interfering with pivotal movement of the next adjacent lsupport but may be relatively small.

The size of each bearing shoe 115 and the number of shoes may vary considerably. Each shoe may extend circumferentially only to 8 degrees or may extend 45 or more. It is usually preferable to employ shoes which are regularly circumferentially spaced, and three shoes are sufficient. In the roll shown in FIGURES 6 to 8, each shoe 115 has a rectangular perimeter, but the shape may vary. It is preferable to shape the shoes so as to minimize wear on the inner surface of shell 12a.

FIGURE 9 shows schematically how grooving of the interior cylindrical surface of the outer shell 12a by the bearing shoes may be avoided by sloping and overlapping the end edges. Thus the arcuate bearing shoes 115 of FIGURES 6 to 8 may be replaced by the similar shoes 115i: to provide narrow inclined clearance spaces 119 of the same width as spaces 19a between the adjacent bearing shoes of each of the three longitudinal rows of such shoes which support the shell 12a.

While the size and weight of the roll of this invention may vary considerably, a typical roll would have a length of 20 to 30 feet, an external diameter of 30 to 40 inches, and a weight of many tons. Such roll could be used in a calendar stack used for sheeting paper and in various other heavy calenders which handle relatively wide sheets. Rolls constructed according to this invention are useful for calendering paper and various fibrous materials as well as various metals, rubbers and plastics.

The drawings are for purposes of illustration, rather than limitation, and it will be' apparent from the description that many other arrangements of parts will produce similar results in an antideflection roll. Thus it will be apparent from the above description of FIGURES 1 to 4 that the regular arrangement of the pivot shafts shown in FIGURES 6 to 8 is not necessary if the roll A2 is used with an adjacent crowned roll. Likewise the beam may be positioned to receive a horizontal rather than a vertical load. While the description emphasizes the advantages of the invention in super calenders and calender stacks where the conditions are the most severe, such advantages are also obtained in various other rolls used in paper manufacture and in various other industries including those subjected to light loads.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent laws, variations and modifications of the specific devices shown or described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An antideflection roll for calenders, heavy calenders or other rolls comprising an axially elongated nonrotating central supporting beam; a hollow axially elongated cylindrical outer shell surrounding said beam and rotatable about an axis parallel to said beam; a series of non-rotatable supporting members located within said shell; a series of peripheral bearing means carried by said supporting members at axially spaced peripheral zones within said shell for rotatably supporting said shell; and means for yieldably carrying said supporting members from said beam and holding said supporting members against rotation relative to said beam comprising lever means pivotally mounted on said beam to swing radially a limited amount and having free end portions pivotally connected to said supporting members to distribute the load to said bearing means, whereby a heavy load which bends said beam causes translation of the axis of said outer shell.

2. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting members comprise rings axially spaced along the interior surface of said outer shell and surrounding said beam.

3. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said lever means includes two levers interposed between said beam and one of said supporting members.

4. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said lever means includes a main lever pivotally connected to said beam and having its opposite end portions pivotally connected to central portions of two shorter levers, each of the peripheral bearing means being pivotally supported by the end portion of one of said shorter levers.

5. An antideflection roll as defined in Iclaim 1 wherein at least two of said supporting members comprise axially extending sleeves, the opposite end portions of said sleeves carrying said peripheral bearing means, and wherein said lever means is connected to an intermediate portion of each sleeve between said peripheral bearing means.

6. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said peripheral bearing means are pivotally mounted on said supporting members.

7. An antidefiection roll as defined in claim 6 wherein said peripheral bearing means comprise relatively wide thin sleeve-type bearings closely spaced along the length of the outer shell.

8. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1, wherein said lever means distributes the load substantially uniformly to all of said bearing means.

9. An antidefiection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said bearing means are located in at least 8 axially spaced peripheral zones along the length of said outer shell.

10. An antidefiection roll as defined in claim 9 wherein said bearing means are substantially regularly spaced along the length of said outer shell.

11. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said lever means comprise independent levers mounted near opposite end portions of said outer shell, the levers at each end distributing the load to at least 4 of said bearing means and having free end portions pivotally connected to the intermediate portions of two of said supporting members, each of which supporting members extends axially between two of said peripheral bearing means.

12. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 11 wherein said independent levers are symmetrically arranged with respect to the central portion of said beam.

13. An antideection roll as defined in claim 12 wherein each of said independent levers has an intermediate portion pivotally mounted on said beam and opposite end portions pivotally connected to the axially central portions of said axially extending supporting members, whereby the average load carried by each of said peripheral bearing means is about one-fourth the load transferred to the beam from each lever.

14. An antideection roll as defined in claim 13 wherein the pivotal connection of each lever to said beam is midway between the pivotal connections of that lever to said supporting tmembers, whereby each supporting member carries half the total load carried by each lever and each of said peripheral bearing means carries about one-fourth of said last-named total load.

15. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said supporting members is generally cylindrical and has an outer diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of said outer shell to provide a narrow annular space to receive said peripheral bearing means.

16. An antidefiection roll for heavy calenders or other rolls of the character described comprising an axially elongated non-rotating horizontal central supporting beam; a hollow cylindrical outer shell surrounding said beam and rotatable about an axis parallel to said beam; a series of axially spaced non-rotatable inter-mediate supporting rings within said shell and surrounding said beam; a series of axially spaced peripheral bearing means carried by said supporting rings within said shell for rotatably supporting said outer shell concentric to said supporting rings; and means for yieldably supporting said rings from said beam and holding said rings against rotation relative to said beam about an axis parallel to said beam comprising lever means pivotally mounted on said beam and having end portions free to move radially as the lever means pivot, and pivot means for connecting said end portions of said lever means to the axial central portions of said supporting rings to distribute the load to said bearing means, whereby each bearing means of an axially spaced pair of said bearing means receives no more than about half the total force applied to the associated supporting ring and each supporting ring recelves a force no more than about half the total force applied to said beam by said lever means.

17. An antidetlection roll for heavy calenders, fourdrinier presses and other rolls comprising an axially elongated non-rotating central supporting beam; a hollow cylindrical outer shell surrounding said beam and rotatable around an axis parallel to the axis of said beam; a series of axially spaced intermediate non-rotating supporting members within said shell and surrounding said beam; axially spaced peripheral bearing means carried by the opposite end portions of each of said members for rotatably supporting said outer shell; and means for yieldably supporting each pair of said members from said beam comprising lever means extending axially of said beam, means pivotally mounting the central portion of said lever means on said beam at a location between a pair of said members, and pivot means movable radially relative to said beam for connecting each end portion of said lever means to the axial central portion of the associated supporting member while permitting pivotal movement of said lever means, whereby said lever means and said supporting members distribute the load substantially uniformly along the length of said outer shell.

18. An antideilection roll as deiined in claim 17 wherein said lever means has a central pivot shaft carried by said beam between a pair of said supporting members and a pair of supporting shafts at opposite ends of said lever extending parallel to said pivot shaft through openings in said beam, said openings permitting limited movement with respect to said beam of said supporting shafts when load is applied, whereby said `beam may bend under load without causing substantial deflection of said outer shell.

19. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 17 wherein each of said supporting members is a generally cylindrical ring with a pair of diametrically opposed openings midway between its ends and said pivot means comprises a long shaft mounted in said opposed openings and in an opening in the end portion of said lever `means and extending through a larger opening in said beam which per-mits movement of said shaft when the beam deects under load.

20. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 17 wherein each suporting member is a generally cylindrical ring and the bearing means at the end of each supporting member comprises a circumferential antifriction bearing interposed between the exterior of said ring and the interior of said outer shell, the bearing being located to receive at each end of each support Vmember about half of the load transmitted between that member and the outer shell, each of said supporting members being located to receive about half of the load transmitted between said lever means and said beam.

21. An antideflection roll as defined in claim 17 wherein each of said supporting members is a lever pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the central portions 10 of two bearing supports which are located adjacent the inner surface of said outer shell with their ends adjacent each other, each bearing support having a relatively wide bearing which extends axially substantially the full width of said bearing support.

22. An antideection roll as dened in claim 17 wherein said lever means comprises a pair of parallel levers mounted on opposite sides of said beam with the central portions thereof mounted on a short central pivot shaft extending through said beam generally perpendicular thereto, the opposite end portions of said parallel levers being pivotally connected to the central portions of said supporting members to distribute the loads on said bearing means.

23. An antideection roll as dened in claim 1 comprising an elongated supporting -beam having a web, a short shaft pivotally mounted in the central portion of said web perpendicular thereto and projecting outwardly from the opposite faces of said web, said shaft having a length less than the height of said beam, a pair of aligned parallel levers having central holes of a size to receive said shaft, each of said levers being pivotally mounted on one of the opposite ends of said shaft and at the opposite faces of said web and parallel thereto to swing about the axis of said shaft, two pairs of aligned openings in the opposite ends of said levers, a relatively long shaft extending through each pair of aligned openings and through a hole in the central portion of said web large cough to permit substantial movement of that shaft relative to the beam, each of said long shafts having a length substantially greater than the height of said beam, a pair of axially spaced supporting rings having their longitudinal centers adjacent the ends of said levers and'surrounding said beam with their axes generally parallel to the beam, each ring having centrally located diametrically opposite holes for receiving the opposite end portions of one of said long shafts, whereby the axial central portion of each ring is supported by the long shaft carried by said levers, means for holding said beam against rotation, a rotatable shell surrounding said beam and said supporting rings and having an outer cylindrical surface with an axis generally parallel to the axis of said beam, and antifriction bearing means at each end of each of said supporting rings for rotatably supporting said shell on said rings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 864,660 8/1907 Love 100--160 886,998 5/1908 Love 29--130 X 2,854,700 10/ 1958 Caspari et al. 3,119,324 1/1964 Justus 29--116 X 3,131,625 5/1964 Kusters et al 29-116 X 3,276,102 10/1966 Justus 100-170 X FOREIGN PATENTS 730,924 6/ 1955 Great Britain. 963,753 7/ 1964 Great Britain.

LOUIS O. MAASSEL, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 10G-155 

